There are also a wide range of techniques now used in recruitment, and the days of a simple advert and application form are long gone. However, while the use by employers of things like social media are a useful tool in vetting candidates, with a 2016 study finding that 60% of employers will turn to social media in order to find and assess candidates, employers should also be mindful of the decisions they make as a result, and the basis on which they are made. While employers may note from a candidate’s Facebook that they are engaged in activities that do not accord with the company’s ethos or brand, which may be a relevant reason to discount them, they must also be clear on their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 in order to ensure that no decision could amount to unlawful discrimination.
Increasingly, recruiters and employers also need to be mindful of the risks of unconscious bias when making recruitment decisions. Unconscious bias happens when our brains make quick assessments of people, influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences, without us realising and possibly on a completely subjective basis. Studies have identified serious concerns in decisions made due to unconscious bias, with one study of science faculties in higher education institutions involving a review of identical applications save for the gender of the name of the applicant finding that the faculty was more likely to rate male candidates as better qualified and more likely to be hired than female candidates. From a recruitment perspective, employers need to be mindful of the risk of such bias when making decisions, to avoid them recruiting in a discriminatory fashion.
Ashtons Legal’s HR and Employment Law team is running a public training course for HR Professionals and Line Managers on ‘Recruitment’, including the topical issue of ‘unconscious bias’, on the morning of 9 March 2017. The half day course will be held at Ashtons Legal’s newly refurbished Cambridge office on Newmarket Road, and will be led by specialist employment solicitor Claire Sleep, who runs the Ashtons training programme across East Anglia. Limited spaces are available on the 9 March session; please contact Claire Sleep for more information and to book on [email protected]. Please also contact Claire if you wish to discuss your own HR training requirements and other courses that the Ashtons team can provide.
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